Fragrance releasing microcapsules have been conventionally incorporated into materials for a variety of reasons. Their use in absorbent materials has been directed to the release of fragrance upon applying pressure or wetting. Additionally, fragrance releasing microcapsules have been used as a coating on stretchable articles. In these materials, the fragrance releasing microcapsules have been applied to a surface of the article, and are not positioned within the article's interior construction. For example, when the article is a nonwoven web, the microcapsules have been applied as a layer on one surface of the web, but not having a substantial amount of microcapsules, if any, within the web's interior fiber structure.
Once the external force (e.g., pressure, wetting, or stretching) is applied to the substrate, the microcapsules burst and release the encapsulated fragrance. In a stretchable article, application of a stretching force bursts the capsules in the coating, while leaving relatively few, if any, unburst microcapsules in the coating. Thus, the stretchable article releases most of available fragrance upon the first stretching force, leaving an insignificant amount of fragrance for subsequent stretching forces.
As such, a need currently exists for an improved technique for providing fragrance releasing microcapsules in conjunction with an elastic material that allows the fragrance to be released upon subsequent stretching forces during prolonged use of the elastic material.